Beauty in the Breakdown
by LiteraryMirage
Summary: Cloud is having problems with a certain ghost from his past that is causing him to miss work. How does Leon as his friend and coworker confront him about this? Cleon/LeonxCloud, one-shot


A/N: Written as part of a prompt challenge on my y!Gallery journal for Okamikodomo. She requested Leon/Cloud – Mental breakdown. And thus, this little baby was born. It's my first time writing the two of them, and I have to say, it was surprising how easily this flowed out.

Beta: Ebonykain (my beloved roomie)

Warnings: Some swearing, implied b/b love, allusions to Cloud's cross-dressing ways

Disclaimer: Dear _gods_, I wish I owned them! Life would be a lot more exciting! ...and I probably wouldn't have to worry about those pesky college loans...

* * *

"Hello?" a groggy, sleep-fogged voice mumbled into the receiver.

_"L-leon?"_

"Cloud? What the hell's going on? Are you—"

_"Shit, I d-didn't expect you to pick up. I'm sor—"_

"Dammit Cloud, what the _fuck_ is wrong—"

_"I'm sorry Leon. I should let you go back to sleep. Sorry I called."_

_CLICK_

Leon stared at the phone in his hand, the dial tone echoing loudly in his ears. For some reason, the sound put him in mind of a banshee. _That_ thought had him shooting out of bed, scrambling to pull on pants, a shirt, and his shoes, all while swearing quietly under his breath.

He had known for a while that something wasn't quite right with Cloud, but they were _guys_ and guys just didn't talk about their feelings or any of that other girly shit. The blond had seemed despondent, more reserved than usual and speaking only when he had to. Throwing himself into his work, Leon was fairly certain he was the only one who had noticed that Cloud no longer laughed like he used to, rarely leaving his cubicle. This included the lunch hour (and who was Leon to argue if his friend decided to go on some crazy no-lunch-diet in order to fit into that slinky dress for the office Halloween party?).

No, what had Leon worried were the late-night dead-air phone calls and messages he had been receiving with increasing frequency over the last couple months. At first, it had happened once, maybe twice a week. And without fail, each time the number that came up was Cloud's. Leon had frowned and shrugged it off a first, figuring that it was probably just a mistake, that his friend had mistakenly dialed his number. But soon enough, the calls were becoming more and more frequent, sometimes as often as every other night.

When Cloud hadn't shown up for work on Monday, Leon hadn't been overly surprised; the man had been developing rather dark circles on the pale skin under once bright blue eyes. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday followed the same pattern of Cloud not showing, and Friday proved to be no different. What _was_ different was that Leon had started to receive the cryptic dead-air calls while he was at work, as well as at home. Earlier that day, he had received no fewer than three such calls at work and another shortly after he arrived home.

"That's _it_. Something is up and it's about damn time Strife talked," he muttered to himself as he grabbed his coat and keys on his way out the door. Leon was unsurprised when he felt and heard his phone jingling with an incoming call. Frowning, he pulled it out without looking at the screen to see who it was.

"Strife, I know it's you. You better be home and if you know what's good for you, you'll have the coffee on," he said sternly, concentrating on navigating the twists and turns that would lead him to Cloud's house.

_"I…Leon, you don't… Fine."_

_CLICK._

"Shit," Leon swore, pressing the accelerator a little harder as he once again pocketed his phone.

Pulling into the driveway and parking next to Cloud's beloved bike, Leon turned off the engine and simply sat there for a few moments, head in his hands. Was he ready for this? He generally avoided emotional confrontations if at all possible, but something told him that if he avoided _this _one, he'd live to regret it. Sighing, he got out and slammed his door shut.

"Strife! Open the damn door, I know you're in there!" he called, pounding on the front door until it opened. What it revealed made the brunet's heart clench in his chest; the blond looked like a dead man walking.

"You look like shit Cloud."

"Great to see you too," the other man grumbled, closing the door behind Leon and shuffling into the kitchen while the other man hung up his coat and left his shoes by the door. Pouring two steaming cups of coffee, he placed one in front of his friend and sat with the other mug clutched tightly between subtly shaking hands. "Wh-what," he coughed and cleared his throat. "What brings you out here?" he tried again, aiming for nonchalance when in reality he was anything but.

"You know damn well what brings me out here Cloud. What the _fuck_ is going on? I _know_ it's you who's been calling and hanging up on me; you used your own damn phone, which I have saved in my contacts. Pretty fuckin' sloppy Strife," Leon growled, eyes locked on his friend. The man looked like he hadn't slept in days, probably hadn't eaten either if the fine tremors running through him as well as the looser than normal pants were any indication. Once again, he swore under his breath at their stupid masculine pride.

Cloud didn't even raise his eyes from staring into the depths of his coffee, flinching slightly at Leon's all too true accusations. He remained silent, not knowing where to start.

"Is it Sephiroth? Has he been bothering you again? I thought you finally got a restraining order against him?"

"N-no… well, maybe a first. He… he left a message on my m-machine saying he'd… that he'd seen Sora and Roxas, that they looked _so_ much like me, were just as innocent as I had been. That he'd _love _to have a taste of them t-to s-see what other ways they're like me," he finally looked up, eyes dull and watery. "I… I called it in, gave a copy to the cops. I thought that was it. But then… I kept coming home to other messages on my machine. Never from him again, but from his brothers. About my brothers, about me, Zack, Aerith, Tifa… even _you_ Leon. They've… they say they've been watching all of us, just waiting for the right moment. That they were waiting… waiting for each of you to be with _me_ so th-th-they c-could…" his voice finally broke, Cloud trembling badly enough that his mug spilled some of its contents onto his hands. He said nothing in reaction to the liquid burning into his skin.

"Dammit Cloud, you should have said something!" Leon swore, moving quickly to remove the mug from his friend's hands. "C'mon, let's go in the living room," he said softly, wrapping an arm around Cloud to encourage the other man to stand and follow him.

They had almost made it to the couch when Cloud's legs gave out on him, the days and weeks of neglect finally catching up with him. "Shit!" Leon scrambled to catch his friend before he fell and hurt himself. Maneuvering him onto the couch in question, he sat next to the blond, surprised to find his arms full of a brokenly sobbing Cloud clinging to him. "S-s-sh… th-there there," he said, awkwardly rubbing his friend's back.

"I—I c-couldn't let them h-hurt you," Cloud's voice was strained, muffled by the fabric of Leon's shirt. "If… if I'd said anything to the police, they said they'd go after my little brothers first."

"You should have told _me_. I can take care of myself, I could have helped you," Leon said, his voice like silk covered steel. He shifted both of them until he was more comfortably situated, holding Cloud as he had once held his younger half-brother when the boy had first come to live with him. "Hey, it's okay Cloud. We're all okay. I'm here, our brothers are asleep in my den, and I'm sure Zack, Aer and Tif are all okay."

Cloud shook his head, then nodded, rather confused and utterly exhausted. Knowing only that Leon's soft voice was reassuring, somehow aware that it was okay to lean on his friend's strength until he found his own again. "I'm sorry Leon," he whispered, limbs heavy.

"I just wish you'd told me sooner Cloud. You didn't have to do this to yourself." Leon reached down to lift Cloud's chin so he could see his friend's face. "When was the last time you ate? Or slept even? Do you even have any idea what day it is, let alone what time?" he asked quietly.

"I—um… I don't… I don't remember," the blond refused to meet his friend's concerned gaze, ashamed at his own weakness, despite the other man telling him it was okay.

"Right, that's what I thought." Standing, Leon bent to lift Cloud, draping the other man over his back, directing him to "wrap your arms around my neck" before he started up the stairs to the blond's bedroom. "You, Cloud Strife, are going to sleep. Now. And when you wake up, I am _personally_ going to make sure that you eat something. I'd say I was going to make sure you shaved as well, but I don't think that's necessary for you," he smirked slightly at the sputtered protest that came from Cloud. "But I do think a shower is also in order."

Tucking Cloud in like a child, Leon sat on the side of the bed, looking down at this shade of his friend with a pained expression. "You've made a real mess of yourself. If I didn't know it wouldn't do you any good, I'd insist that you seek professional help," he held up his hand when the other man started to protest. "But I won't, because that would only make matters worse. Just… talk to someone next time. All of us care about you Cloud. _I_ care about you," Leon said softly, absently brushing his fingers through formerly spiky blond hair.

"I'm sorry… so sorry, Leon," Cloud whispered, reaching up to grab Leon's hand. "Stay, please?" he asked. The confusion he saw in the other man's eyes forced him to swallow what little was left of his pride in order to clarify his request. "Here, with me. Please, I—I don't want to be alone."

An eyebrow quirked before the brunet nodded and pulled back the blankets again to slide in next to his friend. Turning on his side, he once again felt a stab in his chest at the haunted look in Cloud's eyes. A part of him hated to admit that he liked it when the blond curled closer, a hand coming up to rest over his heart while a head of messy hair tucked under his chin. "Thank you," a barely audible whisper arose from Cloud before the hooks of exhaustion dragged him down into slumber. Leon nodded, even though he knew his companion wouldn't be able to see it, even if he'd still been conscious.

"Oh Cloud, you're such a mess," he sighed, holding the man in question protectively. He bent his neck to press a chaste kiss to his friend's brow. "Don't you know I'd do anything for you?"

Inhaling deeply, he released the breath in a slow sigh as he forced his muscles to relax. It had to be close to five or six in the morning, meaning he was still due for another few hours of sleep. Yawning suddenly, he spared a thought to remark to himself that it was certainly a good thing it was the weekend. Releasing another yawn, he closed his eyes and let himself follow Cloud into sleep. There was plenty to time to conquer the blond's problems after a good long sleep.

* * *

~Fin~

Reviews make this little writer _very_ happy!

A/N: Yes, I did indeed make Riku Leon's younger half-brother (different mums), and Roxas & Sora are Cloud's younger brothers. I couldn't help myself, I just am eternally amused by the idea of those three being the Stoic Duo's younger sibs!


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